🌍 Kate Clark’s Post

How can Ireland continue to succeed in building a world-class innovation economy? This week I have tried to understand the rationale to why the NDRC will cease in 12 months. Having spent the last few years immersed in the evolution of the start-up ecosystem at home, it has been very apparent that this program has been invaluable to many founding teams across Ireland. I appreciate and respect this perspective from Patrick Walsh and the questions he directly puts forward: --> Do we have the correct strategy for our innovation economy? --> Why are we making decisions that appear misaligned with international expert advice and, more importantly, the voices of our own entrepreneurs? With the elections ahead, and the 'talk' of the program coming under the Department of Enterprise, will the decision be reversed? I truly hope so.

The recent U.S. election results, with Donald Trump's "America First" approach, and the new U.S. Commerce Secretary singling Ireland out as part of the problem, have intensified conversations about Ireland's economic strategy and heightened the urgency to build a strong indigenous economy that matches the strength of our foreign direct investment (FDI) sector. The closure of NDRC has been deeply disheartening to many in the entrepreneurial community. It is significant not just because of the loss of our flagship startup programmes but because it raises a larger set of questions - Do we have the correct strategy for our innovation economy? Why are we making decisions that appear misaligned with international expert advice and, more importantly, the voices of our own entrepreneurs? If nothing else, I hope this is a catalyst for a wider discussion amongst all stakeholders about the future of our innovation economy. Accelerators alone are not the solution, just part of one. I delve deeper into this issue in my commentary for the Business Post today https://bit.ly/3V76qzX

Whoever wins the next election will need a plan to retain and bring in the world's best a brightest: "On Thursday the nation goes to the polls. Regular readers will know we aren’t going to tell you where to put your cross – but we will be informing whoever enters Downing Street what policies would help the UK’s entrepreneurs. Access to talent is key. Talk to the founders of Britain’s startups and scaleups and they will tell you getting the right people in to help them grow is their number one issue. Part of the solution is education and training – which we covered last week – but there is no getting away from the fact that we need to be welcoming to talented individuals who want to come to our country and contribute to our economy. In Passport to Progress we set out in detail how to do this. The competition for talent will only get more intense, which is why Germany has just launched the Opportunity Card. It allows those who qualify to live in the country for up to one year while looking for work, rather than requiring an employer to sponsor them beforehand. If Trump returns to the White House, we need policies ready to roll to pinch any of their disaffected coastal entrepreneurial talent who have had enough. Not least because Trump has revealed that he wants to let more top international graduates stay in the US." (Extracted from my Friday newsletter – visit our website to read the rest,)

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲... I’m not usually one to post about political topics, but waking up to the outcome of the US elections feels like more than just another government change. After months of debates, and despite the strong candidacy of Harris, Trump has won again. Impeachment, indictments, and everything he has done in the past didn’t stop the public from choosing him again. His success is largely driven by his promise to again lower corporate taxes from 21% to 15% for certain companies (compared to Germany’s average corporate tax rate of 29.9%), stimulate trade, boost the U.S. economy and support U.S. companies over foreign competitors 🙅♀️ Meanwhile, in the European context, we continue to struggle with increasing bureaucracy, a slowing economy, and a lack of investments, with no clear sign of change in the near future. If we want to remain relevant and competitive, especially as countries like the US turn toward protectionism rather than collaboration, we must start growing our own European and German champions 🌱 𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞? 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬:  ✅ End the growing administrative burden on businesses  ✅ Have institutions working for our benefit not we for theirs  ✅ Understand how investments in startups should be managed, and provide more support rather than the usual criticism and fear of taking risks or losing money When it comes to Germany 🇩🇪 it is time that our government start collaborating more with companies like startbereit, so we can streamline at least some of the bureaucratic process here in Germany and allow entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best — running their businesses. We, and many others, are working hard to improve the landscape, but without proper coordination, progress will be slow. And given the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, we simply cannot afford to wait. The future isn’t waiting for anyone. It’s not just the U.S. – 🇨🇳 China, 🇮🇳 India, and other growing economies are showing us that bold action is needed. We need to wake up from the comfort zone we are in before it’s too late. 𝑰𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔? #Europe #Germany #Innovation #Startups #Economy #Leadership #Investment #Bureaucracy #GlobalCompetition #Geopolitics #BoldMoves

The next UK government must prioritise supporting small businesses to revitalise towns and cities. Small businesses are essential for local economic growth and innovation, helping solve broader community issues. Research, also out this week, to coincide with the 50th G7 Summit in Italy, suggests governments should make focusing on support for local economies outside of London the key priority.  Enterprise Nation  agree and that's why they have focused their own Manifesto suggestions around this fundamental point.  📚 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ecjRA2fn Emma Jones  #SmallBusiness #EconomicGrowth #Innovation #UKPolitics

Excellent to see the UK rank fifth in the 2024 innovation ranking of the World Intellectual Property Organization with Switzerland at the top for the 14th consecutive year and Europe still holding the highest number of innovation leaders among the top 25 – 15 in total, with seven among the top 10. The UK has continued to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem through initiatives such as Business Asset Disposal Relief (AKA Entrepreneurs' Relief). A hot topic of conversation amongst many founders and investors at the moment is around Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves's plan to hike capital gains tax for entrepreneurs selling their businesses, by cutting this relief as part of a broader overhaul of CGT in the Autumn Budget on October 30th. In an open letter on Monday,  over 500 British entrepreneurs and unicorns warned against proposed hikes to capital gains tax. Link below if you would like to support and sign. https://lnkd.in/esZJ-iKn WIPO: https://lnkd.in/eFB-hEhz #founders #investors #ukbusiness #entrepreneurcommunity

Governments should govern. Business people should be the driving force of business.

In the FT today, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt highlighted the need for more high-skilled migration to the UK. He said, 'A pro-growth agenda would start with high-skilled immigration, which is now in place here and should be expanded.' These insights are timely as we gather at Baker McKenzie on Thursday, 7 November, for our annual UK Immigration Seminar for Japanese corporates, where we’ll be discussing how Japanese businesses can navigate the evolving landscape of UK immigration, tax and employment. https://lnkd.in/eUpwi_VS

Important insight about Ireland's FDI strategy in this quick read by University of Warwick's The Boar ... In short, Ireland’s experience illustrates the importance of having a diversified & long-term FDI attraction strategy that includes SME’s in the tech & innovation sector. These high growth potential companies can offer immediate economic impact and not just "phantom FDI". #phantomFDI https://lnkd.in/gtVU_gqy

The UK, despite being a small island for millennia, has consistently punched above its weight through trade that has turned into global influence. However, it seems our current prime minister is more focused on short-term popularity and social media than on long-term strategy. There's a growing exodus of entrepreneurs and business leaders, who not only contribute to our economy by creating jobs but also bring global opportunities to the UK. As they leave, they take their businesses and innovation elsewhere, weakening our position. Unfortunately, many politicians are disconnected from the realities of trade and industry, stir public sentiment for their own gain, to stay in Power and to get all the benefits that go with it rather than addressing the real challenges that threaten our future. We need to encourage entrepreneurs as our country was built upon this. This is not a political statement as myself and many people are disillusioned with all political parties is a business statement for not only this generation but generations to come. #Entrepreneurs #trade #industry #smallbusiness